Windows Live expands by acquiring FolderShare

Microsoft is poised to offer a great new P2P service through Windows Live, but …

Earlier this week Microsoft announced the purchase of FolderShare, a P2P file sharing and synchronization tool that allows users to publicly share their files without uploading them to a web server. The service, started in 2002, was purchased from Austin, Texas-based ByteTaxi, Inc., whose share was previously held by the Iomega Corporation. Microsoft intends to integrate the service into their Windows Live platform, which will allow users to share their pictures, documents and home movies.

FolderShare is a monumental acquisition for Microsoft considering that the product has a boatload of wonderful features. Once the product is installed, it offers:

Multicomputer searches with Windows Desktop

Maximum size of 2 GB per file

Automatic synchronization without the need to set Read/Write permissions

Intelligent uPnP, completely removing firewalls from the picture

Intelligent P2P, allowing files to replicate from the fastest source

Secure authentication via RSA with encryption via AES over SSL

With the list of features mentioned above, it comes as no surprise that Microsoft has big plans, as stated by their own Blake Irving:

?Our mission for Windows Live? is to enable customers to easily find the information, pursue the interests and deepen the relationships that enrich their lives,? said Blake Irving, corporate vice president of the MSN Communication Services and Member Platform group at Microsoft. ?I?m thrilled with the acquisition of FolderShare and the opportunity to offer this technology with Windows Live software and services. FolderShare technology will help customers access their information anytime, anywhere and on multiple devices, unifying their overall experience.?

FolderShare's capabilities are attractive to both home and corporate environments. Document synchronization and replication is a powerful tool for corporations to send documents outside of their LAN, and the free price tag will make plenty of corporations at least consider using the service. Home users that are not saavy enough to create shared folders will also find FolderShare very convenient and easy compared to folder sharing as it currently stands. Finally, the desktop portion of FolderShare is also supported by OS X, making it a cross-platform solution.

Regardless of features, Microsoft still has their hands full. Some users may not be comfortable logging in to a web interface and having full access to their file system. Holding true to the P2P style, other users can be invited to synchronize with selected folders, but the selection process can be relatively confusing for many novices, resulting in private folders being made public. The possibilities are frightening considering the fact that the closest application to FolderShare is Novell's iFolder, an enterprise sharing application that runs over LANs. FolderShare will be a first for what Microsoft expects to be a gargantuan Windows Live community.

But user fears aside, the biggest issue that Microsoft faces is piracy. The service is perfect for swapping music, videos and everything else digital. In fact, users will be able to share files without any intervention since the synchronization can be set to automatically seed all PCs in a user group on a very regular schedule. Obviously, FolderShare is going to help Windows Live grow into a web portal powerhouse, but at what cost.

Microsoft released a statement yesterday supporting the Bush administration's STOP initiative, and it would be reneging on its word if it permitted Windows Live to become a melting pot of piracy.

?At Microsoft we believe that our customers want to be sure they are purchasing and using genuine software. We remain committed to advancing education among consumers to identify and obtain genuine software. Microsoft is also continuing to invest heavily in engineering world-class anti-counterfeiting technologies to protect our intellectual property, and to supporting government and law enforcement on enforcement actions against counterfeiters.?

The statement, made by Microsoft's Senior Vice President Orlando Ayala, obviously pertains to the acquisition of FolderShare. The question remains as to how Microsoft plans on babysitting FolderShare's users. Performing filtering on the shares could result in needed files being blocked, such as video presentations, which would render the major benefits of FolderShare useless. As a matter of fact, FolderShare's website even advertises that the service allows users to share multimedia files, or "home videos," as it states. What is definite is that Microsoft will not be able to keep the issue under wraps very long. If it does not publicly discuss piracy prevention methods for FolderShare, then anti-piracy groups will begin to investigate the matters, which is the last thing that Microsoft needs in its world of lawsuits.

Piracy is an issue that Microsoft has been facing for years now, but it has only truly dealt with its own software. Attempts to support DRM in Windows Media Player have been disappointing, and even the Genuine Advantage Tool was thwarted in less than a day. FolderShare offers Microsoft one of its biggest anti-piracy challenges to date, but it also offers some much-needed excitement to a rather dull Windows Live. How will it react? Three years ago Microsoft computer scientists stated that music piracy was inevitable. Will Microsoft just turn a blind eye to what's happening inside of FolderShare, or will it actively pursue methods of preventing FolderShare from becoming the most popular P2P piracy application ever?